Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBCAA) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Republic Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:RBCAA) shares reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $85.18 and last traded at $84.7460, with a volume of 19014 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $84.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Republic Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Republic Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Republic Bancorp Trading Up 1.4%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $75.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.17 and a beta of 0.58.

Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBCAA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.63. Republic Bancorp had a net margin of 25.22% and a return on equity of 11.32%. The company had revenue of $114.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $96.60 million.

Republic Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 18th will be given a $0.495 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 18th. This represents a $1.98 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Republic Bancorp’s payout ratio is 30.56%.

Institutional Trading of Republic Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RBCAA. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Republic Bancorp by 199.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,649 shares of the bank’s stock worth $743,000 after acquiring an additional 7,764 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Republic Bancorp by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,945 shares of the bank’s stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in Republic Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $716,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in Republic Bancorp by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 14,120 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,032,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Republic Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $578,000. Institutional investors own 24.37% of the company’s stock.

About Republic Bancorp

Republic Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that operates through its principal subsidiary, Republic Bank & Trust Company. The company provides a full suite of commercial and retail banking services tailored to individuals, small businesses and middle?market clients. Core offerings include deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, treasury and cash-management services, mortgage financing, SBA lending and wealth management solutions. Republic Bancorp also supports specialized financing needs through equipment leasing and small business advisory services.

Republic Bancorp’s branch network spans key markets in the U.S.